Farmer's Markets Chesterfield MO

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Tips for Growing the Perfect Tomato

Last weekend, I bought something at the farmers’ market that got me so excited I went way over budget and didn’t even wait until I got home to dig into my purchase. What got me so amped up amid crowds of pushy people before I’d even finished my morning coffee? The advent of tomato season, of course.

Farmers’ market tomatoes are a different breed—figuratively and often literally—than the hard, packaged ones in the grocery stores’ year-round produce section. They’re multicolored, they range in size from that of a Ping-Pong ball to that of a grapefruit, and the taste (oh, the taste!) is fruity, sweet, and silky all at the same time. My ode to fresh tomatoes would be one of undying love if it weren’t for the price: my breathless purchase set me back ten bucks. This got me thinking: could I grow my own tomatoes and feed my craving for the fruit while saving money—and cultivate my own green thumb at the same time?

To find out what it really takes to grow a good tomato, I consulted Penny Granberg, a grower who, according to local opinion, consistently grows the farmers’ markets’ juiciest, most flavorful tomatoes.

Should Any Home Gardener Give It a Try? Turns out, tomatoes are one of the top crops in home gardens, since they’re easy to grow , compared with other fruits and veggies. And don’t think that tomato growing is just for Californians or Floridians—tomatoes are cold-tolerant to a certain extent. To help out gardeners nationwide with just this dilemma, the U.S. Department of Agriculture developed the plant hardiness zone map , which divides North America into eleven zones, ranked by how cold they are (zone one being the coldest). If you look up a plant, like a certain type of tomato, it will tell you whether that plant will survive in your region. For example, one type of tomato might be cold-tolerant to zone seven, so if you live in zones seven through eleven, that’s a type that’s worth a try.

There are two basic types of tomatoes from which to choose: determinant varieties, which stop growing new vines when flowering begins (leading to a large, single crop), or indeterminate varieties, which continue to add new growth throughout the season (usually from midsummer until the first frost).

Plan for Planting Feeling ambitious enough to start from seed? “Plant them in April,” recommends Granberg, whose Rose Lane Farm in California grows about 1,800 tomato plants each year. “Otherwise, a late frost will ruin them.” Granberg says it’s best to start from seed, but if you lack the timing or patience (or green thumb, like I do), she says, buying a young plant from a reputable nursery is also a fine way to get started, especially for first-timers.

Granberg recommends planting in April because it’s crucial to wait until any possibility of frost has passed. Check with your local garden store to find out an ideal planting time for your area.

Room to Grow We associate tomatoes with summer because they’re warm-weather produce, which ...

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